The world we are living in today is very different to the one that we are used to. Our routines have changed and many people’s lives have been turned upside down.
With that said, we are confident we will all come out of this stronger. For now, we wanted to give you an update on our operations and how we are managing COVID-19 restrictions, while continuing to provide jobs, opportunities and economic benefits to regional Queenslanders.
Carmichael Mine and Rail Project
We are following all relevant advice from Queensland Health and the Federal Government on COVID-19 restrictions in order to keep our people, contractors and the community safe and protected.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about full-time anti-coal activist Scott Daines who clearly doesn’t believe the same COVID-19 restrictions apply to him. Joined by a sidekick, he travelled to several of our worksites this week with a blatant disregard for the directive to stay home and limit non-essential travel.
These are challenging times for everyone. Just like every other Queenslander we’re doing our best to adapt to the new protocols with the health and safety of our workforce and community first and foremost. We’re also striving to keep people in a job.
Similar to other miners we’ve also welcomed the Queensland Police Service (QPS) onto our sites to check the measures we have in place, but we certainly don’t welcome people like Scott Daines, who has dedicated years of his life to trying to shut down the Australian resources industry, putting our people at risk.
Despite all that is going on, construction remains on schedule. Work on our railway has commenced, our first rail camp is nearing completion and the build of the second camp is underway. In total, our three temporary rail camps will provide an additional 1,200 beds for workers on our project. Our airstrip works are also nearing completion which will allow for aircraft to land in all weather conditions.
We can’t stress enough that the health and safety of everyone across the Project and the community is our priority. Social distancing measures are in place and while we have closed our gym and other areas where people would normally congregate, we have installed a running track around the camp so there is still an option for exercise.
We’re continuing to adapt where necessary and will do so in line with all Queensland Health and Federal Government requirements.
Abbot Point Operations
As one of the Bowen region’s major employers, and a gateway to the world for Australian exports, we take our responsibility to our employees and contractors, their families, and the community at large seriously.
We have put in place a range of physical and organisational measures to manage and minimise the risks of COVID-19. Anyone who can perform their work from home is doing so to adhere to social distancing rules. We have also implemented additional cleaning at the Port and temperature checks on arrival for anyone entering our workplace.
Importantly, crews from visiting ships do not leave their vessel unless on the very rare occasion they need medical attention and they have been thoroughly vetted to ensure they do not have any of the symptoms of COVID-19.
There is no physical contact between crew of any visiting ship and ours. These protections are enforced by biosecurity officers (Department of Agriculture) and Maritime Safety Queensland and are some of the best in the world.
While COVID-19 activities have largely dominated our workplace, we’re also very pleased to announce that we have appointed Allan Brown as Abbot Point Operations General Manager – Port Operations.
Allan brings a wealth of experience from senior leadership roles at Gladstone Ports Corporation and Newcrest Mining Limited, and is well equipped to support the future
growth of our business. He will start his role after Easter.
From everyone at Adani Australia, we would like to wish you and your family all the very best during this uncertain time.
Easter holidays look very different this year for a lot of people, but we hope you enjoy the few days at home.
We look forward to a time when things return a little more to normal.
